The Puppy Experiment

She had to go in for a Booster shot. After much research, it seems like there’s no possibility of her ever catching any of the things that she’s getting vaccinated for, but better safe than sorry I guess. She’s supposed to have all of these shots within our first 2 months. That’s a lot of stuff they’re going to pump into her:

• Parvo virus
• Corona virus
• Distemper
• Hepatitis
• Parainfluenza
• Canine Adenovirus (this and all the above are combined into one shot “7-in-1″. For small pups, it’s recommended to get boosters one visit at time, and spaced out 1-2 weeks.)
• Deworming
• Rabies (required by law, research recommends getting it every 3 years.)
• Leptospirosis (optional, but not all vets will tell you this. Only needed if you take your dog into forests/hunting.)

**contributed from a reader: “Leptospirosis can be gotten by eating dog food that a mouse or rat has peed on. So, it there is a possibility of that…“

• Bordetella (“Kennel Cough”- optional, people seem to love telling you it’s necessary. Only needed if you plan to board your dog in a kennel or show it in dog shows)
• Lyme disease (optional but not all vets will tell you this. Only needed if you live in the forest, take your dog camping, or live in a highly tick infested region.)
• Giardia (optional, people seem to love telling you it’s necessary. Only needed if you live by rivers, go camping, or plan to let your pup lick dirty puddles on the road.)

The shots must really hurt her, because after the first vet visit she was really sore around the spot where she got the shot and she would cry and whine when we picked her up. It was pretty scary, since she didn’t start getting yippy until 2 days after she got the shot, so we were freaking out trying to figure out why she wouldn’t let us touch her. But this 2nd time, she started getting sore the same night, a few hours later, and was very sensitive around the spot where she got the shot. So now we know. Definitely the shot.

We weighed her again at the vet. She grew a whole pound heavier in a week. She went from 2.3 to 3.2 lbs. in 10 days! That’s amazing. If she keeps growing at this rate, she might turn into…